Through the Giant Cactus Forest m 



covery an aroma of romance and popular in- 

 terest, as it might have been made by some of 

 the native allies of the early explorers, or by 

 others thousands of years before. This, then, 

 was the lure which led us into the heart of the 

 giant forest, that, to me at least, became the real 

 prize of a successful quest. 



Owing to the almost absolute level of the Rio 

 Yaqui delta, and the absence of stones, the re- 

 gion for miles is perfect for motor cars, and 

 the majority of runs bisecting the forest were 

 made in a large touring car over the ancient 

 Mexican roads and trails, that might have been 

 compared to those of some park. We entered 

 Mexico at the head of the Magdalena Valley 

 with its picturesque native towns, its green fields, 

 and constant change of verdure, dropping down 

 from the higher altitude of three quarters of a 

 mile above the Gulf, and I have the impression 

 that the greater part of the roads of Sonora, 

 where there has been no heavy teaming, will 

 afford an interesting field for the motor car en- 

 thusiast of the future, a possibility prophesied 

 by Burbank, who, in a recent address on the 

 cactus, out of which he is evolving such mar- 

 vellous results, said: 



" Mexico is the land of destiny, the land of a 

 hidden past, the land of a most brilliant future. 

 It has a climate in parts surpassing California. 

 It is destined in the summer, the autumn, the 



